Wine-savvy

[bods1000]

red and white wine when i dine out with family and friends.

hello there!

yeah dining out with friends and family sometimes makes for a great wine experience...whites usually go with your appetizers, then either red or white with the main course, depending on what food it is. Kung minsan masarap mag-experiment with what kind of wines go with what food - just don't let a bad choice ruin your dinner date or family outing.

[bods1000]

up ko lang thread! hey, bods, what happened?

thanks for the call - I'm looking forward to next week ...and thanks for keeping watch on the Thread. I sure owe you one hehehe.....

[bods1000]

thanks bods for the advise. will do the roundst this weekend. havent gone to bacchus, santis, or anthony's for quite sometime. I dont know of other importers. I just rely on what the 3 stores could offer. I will try the one you recommended in Pasong Tamo.

 

perhaps, you may want to add to the thread how you drink your wines, what cheezes go well, or if you smoke a pipe or cigar. i guess you can't remove these from a wine sipping culture.

 

good luck and thanks again.

were you the one who was asking about the Coppola wines?

anyway, no problem pare - we're here to help each other out - tell us naman the results of your wine hunt dyan sa mga stores you mentioned, ok?

 

How do I drink my wines? Well it's very rare that I go out to savor wine with dinner because restaurant wines are too expensive but are not worth it - I mean yung mga house wines nila usually are the cheapest ones they can get - ito ang ginagawa nilang house wines. These are the wines you can grab off a supermarket shelf for less than P300 or even P200 but they're selling it for about P150 PER GLASS! Now I wouldn't want to be ripped off like that and drink inferior wine to boot! Now their better wines you have to pay through the nose for it - P1200 to P2000 and they're not available by the glass kasi nga hindi house wine.

 

So I just buy from the supermarkets (not the wine stores because wine store prices are higher for the same wine than that from a grocery) and drink at home while reading or at the PC or watching TV. Usually I just take a chunk of cheese with the wine - that's how stingy I am hehehe but the experience is so pleasurable because I try to taste as many wines as I can. (Read: As i can afford )

 

Cigars are real dandy - ilang beses ko nang binalak to try cigars - but it would be too expensive a habit na hehehe. maybe on of these years I will. But as far as I know cigars go better with scotch - not wine, although it's just my opinion.

 

Ok, as for your query about cheese vis-a-vis wines, there's a very good feature on that from Wine Spectator. I'll try to dig it up and post excerpts from it on the Thread later on, ok? But you know availability of particular cheeses here in Manila is quite limited, so mahirap kung minsan hanapin yung gusto mong cheese. I'll keep you posted later on.

 

Cheers, pare!

[caloy76]

If you need German wines...just msg me. We might be having some wine events in the coming month coz German month na. I will tell pag may tasting. May wine evening sana kami tomorrow but all slots are taken na.

[sally bogna mathay]

Cigars are real dandy - ilang beses ko nang binalak to try cigars - but it would be too expensive a habit na hehehe. maybe on of these years I will. But as far as I know cigars go better with scotch - not wine, although it's just my opinion.

 

hey bods, just my two cents on cigars...i can count on my fingers the cigars i have smoked in my lifetime (mahal kasi, usually bigay lang)...pero masarap siya with single malt

[amhon]

If you need German wines...just msg me. We might be having some wine events in the coming month coz German month na. I will tell pag may tasting. May wine evening sana kami tomorrow but all slots are taken na.

MAY I ASK IF YOU ARE A SUPPLIER OF WINES AND LIQUORS I WILL BE VERY GLAD IF YOU COULD EMAIL ME THE PRICELIST AT AMHON@HOTMAIL.COM OR TXT ME AT 09202754755

[bods1000]

If you need German wines...just msg me. We might be having some wine events in the coming month coz German month na. I will tell pag may tasting. May wine evening sana kami tomorrow but all slots are taken na.

Sayang!

Pero next time inform us ha We'd love to go there hehehe

[bods1000]

hey bods, just my two cents on cigars...i can count on my fingers the cigars i have smoked in my lifetime (mahal kasi, usually bigay lang)...pero masarap siya with single malt

single-malt wow! with cigars that would be REAL expensive

grabe presyo din ng mga single-malt whiskies pero I heard mas pure daw ang lasa nito kesa mga blended scotch whiskies....

I've been reading up on cigars and really, it got me interested. Para ding wine - bawat country may particular characteristics yung cigar nila. And there are a dizzying number of varieties! Yun nga lang talagang expensive, pero who knows...

[masi]

single-malt wow! with cigars that would be REAL expensive

grabe presyo din ng mga single-malt whiskies pero I heard mas pure daw ang lasa nito kesa mga blended scotch whiskies....

I've been reading up on cigars and really, it got me interested. Para ding wine - bawat country may particular characteristics yung cigar nila. And there are a dizzying number of varieties! Yun nga lang talagang expensive, pero who knows...

i agree with you guys. I am a regular, as in everyday, cigar smoker for the last 7 to 8 years. I smoke usually after the day is done, more often after dinner. i smoke cigars straight up, with wine, brandy, coffee and even with Coke (the softdrink not the powder)

 

I started out with our local brands progressed to Cuban, Dominican, Honduran, i guess you name it... but when the financial crisis hit in 1997, I am back to local.

 

I smoke mainly Tabacalera line, 1881, DJU. All have different characteristics. They have improved the blend. I had a chance to visit Tabacalera in Sucat a few years back. They told me that they have a Cuban Master Blender who modified the blend and improved quality standards. To appreciate your cigars better, I really suggest you visit a cigar factory. They toured me from the solera type aging of tobacco leaves, to rolling, quality control, packaging.

 

To get a "hit" within the day, I smoke coffee-flavored caprichos. These are short maybe about 12-minutes to consume. The smoke smells good and you dont get frowned upon but nothing beats your classic corona, churchill, torpedo, etc. anyday.

:cool:

Take up the habit of smoking cigars... it helps the Philippine economy. It raises the bar of Philippine products in the international market... and yes its less hazardous compared to the regular, chemical filled cigarettes.

 

All you need to smoke a cigar is a relax attitude and environment and time for yourself.... YOU DESERVE IT!

 

will comment separately on single malts.

[masi]

single malts. taken with a dash (maybe half a teaspoon of water to blend) and you unpack the true flavor of the whiskey. again, drinking it is a matter of personal taste. but the above is the traditional way.

 

i was told by a Scott, that the best way to sip whiskey is by blending it with a little water... this goes well for blended whiskies as well (whether its johnnie blue, premiere, black, red).

 

please note that drinking (or should i say sipping) it at room temperature means that you should drink it at around 18degrees to 22 degrees. That's your average temperature in Scotland. Temperatures here in 'pinas are extreme.

 

This temperature is same in serving your red wines, but red wines are more tolerant. You can go up to 28 degrees still colder than our usual clime here, but night time temperature is acceptable.

 

single malts are pricey, and stronger. but if you have disposable income, go ahead.... enjoy life.

 

bods, sorry for off line post. i just want to share experiences... medyo mature na rin kasi ako that's why i have all these experiences to share....

 

for a time, it thought i was a dying breed, but with your thread, i know there are alot of us sharing the passion of enjoying the nicer things in life.

[bods1000]

i agree with you guys. I am a regular, as in everyday, cigar smoker for the last 7 to 8 years. I smoke usually after the day is done, more often after dinner. i smoke cigars straight up, with wine, brandy, coffee and even with Coke (the softdrink not the powder)

 

I started out with our local brands progressed to Cuban, Dominican, Honduran, i guess you name it... but when the financial crisis hit in 1997, I am back to local.

 

I smoke mainly Tabacalera line, 1881, DJU. All have different characteristics. They have improved the blend. I had a chance to visit Tabacalera in Sucat a few years back. They told me that they have a Cuban Master Blender who modified the blend and improved quality standards. To appreciate your cigars better, I really suggest you visit a cigar factory. They toured me from the solera type aging of tobacco leaves, to rolling, quality control, packaging.

 

To get a "hit" within the day, I smoke coffee-flavored caprichos. These are short maybe about 12-minutes to consume. The smoke smells good and you dont get frowned upon but nothing beats your classic corona, churchill, torpedo, etc. anyday.

:cool:

Take up the habit of smoking cigars... it helps the Philippine economy. It raises the bar of Philippine products in the international market... and yes its less hazardous compared to the regular, chemical filled cigarettes.

 

All you need to smoke a cigar is a relax attitude and environment and time for yourself.... YOU DESERVE IT!

 

will comment separately on single malts.

I never imagined we could hook-up with a regular cigar smoker here! pare thanks a lot for sharing. Now what perked me up in your post was the thing you said about cigars being less harmful to health - I mean is that true? I've read something about that but I have lost the article. I've been planning to chuck my cigarettes for some other substitutes....

 

What would you recommend for a beginner, pare? And where are the best outlets here for cigars?

[bods1000]

single malts. taken with a dash (maybe half a teaspoon of water to blend) and you unpack the true flavor of the whiskey. again, drinking it is a matter of personal taste. but the above is the traditional way.

 

i was told by a Scott, that the best way to sip whiskey is by blending it with a little water... this goes well for blended whiskies as well (whether its johnnie blue, premiere, black, red).

 

please note that drinking (or should i say sipping) it at room temperature means that you should drink it at around 18degrees to 22 degrees. That's your average temperature in Scotland. Temperatures here in 'pinas are extreme.

 

This temperature is same in serving your red wines, but red wines are more tolerant. You can go up to 28 degrees still colder than our usual clime here, but night time temperature is acceptable.

 

single malts are pricey, and stronger. but if you have disposable income, go ahead.... enjoy life.

 

bods, sorry for off line post. i just want to share experiences... medyo mature na rin kasi ako that's why i have all these experiences to share....

 

for a time, it thought i was a dying breed, but with your thread, i know there are alot of us sharing the passion of enjoying the nicer things in life.

Again, I nver thought there was a single-malt drinker here! No need to worry pare about off-posts

 

Tell us what your favorite single-malt is and the average prices of these drinks...

 

Finer things in life...now that's objective and we really pare are not assuming a pose or a lifestyle just because, you know....You're right, maybe with age we get to discover what has been enjoyed for ages and it so happens that these had to do with wines, cigars, single-malts and some-such

 

Cheers, pare!

[bods1000]

masi, here's your lowdown on cheese. i excerpted this from a magazine feature. I hope this helps.

 

Many cheeses go deliciously with a specific wine. Age of a wine is less of an issue than its level of subtlety. Because strong cheeses can rob more complex wines of their nuances, simpler wines generally go with a wider range of cheeses.

 

Soft Cheeses

 

These cheese are spoonable, almost like a thick sauce, to semifirm. They seem creamier because they coat the palate though their fat content is lower than longer-aged firm cheeses. These include Brie and Camembert, triple creams as Explorateur and Brillat-Savarin and firmer cheeses like Monterey jack and Fontina.

The mouth-coating texture of soft cheeses can make red wines taste thin and tough.Better go with Champagne and crisp, aromatic whites (German or Austrian Rieslings)

 

Blue Cheese

 

Penicillium is allowed to spread through these cheeses as they age, giving them those characteristic blue or green filaments or veins. The strong flavor of the mold dominates the cheese more than the type of milk used. Among these cheeses are Stilton from England, Roquefort from France, Gorgonzola from Italy and Cabrales and Picon from Spain.

The moldy flavor of blue cheese fights with dry wine. Their creaminess is tough on reds. Sweet wines are the answer, and make for some of the greatest wine-and-cheese matches of all time, including Sauternes with Roquefort and Port with Stilton. The nutty taste of oad in these wines is especially welcome with blue cheeses.

 

Hard Cheese

 

These are aged longer and they become firm enough to require some muscle to slice. Their flavor tend to be more complex than soft cheeses. Some grow stinky with age, while others grow spicier and more powerful. Among these are Cheddar and Leicester from England, Gouda from the Netherlands, Emmental and Gruyere from Switzerland, Parmiggiano-Reggiano from Italy, Comte from France and Manchego from Spain.

These cheeses match with a greater range of wines -white and reds. Their deeper more mature flavors work well with powerful and complex reds.

 

Goat and Sheep Cheese

 

These have a gamy note to the cheese. Often has high acidity and has a chalky texture, which softens in varieties like Taupiniere or hardens and becomes crumbly in Crottin de Chavignon. Aged sheep cheese have a touch of nuttiness and only some tang of their origins. Among these cheeses are Pecorino Romano from Italy, Brin d'Amour and fresh chevre from France, and Garrotxa and Manchego from Spain.

Goat cheese cry out for crisp young whites like Sauvignon-blanc-based Sancerre or Pouilly-fume, New Zealand or sometimes California. Chablis also works well. Harder more mature goat cheeses and tangy sheep cheeses such as pecorino have an affinity for lively young reds such as Sangiovese or Zinfandel.

 

Extreme Cheese

 

Bizarre, soapy textures , over-the-top flavors and other loud characteristics make these cheese irresistible to those who love them. Few wines retain their personality when paired with these cheeses, which include Limburger from Germany, Munster, Livarot and Epoisses from France, Pepato from Italy.

In most cases, only very or sweet fortified wines can hold their own against them. An Oloroso Sherry can cut through the nose of a Livarot while the rich sweetness of a Sauternes or even a Hungarian Tokay, will assert itself through the pungency of an Epoisse.

 

 

 

[masi]

I never imagined we could hook-up with a regular cigar smoker here! pare thanks a lot for sharing. Now what perked me up in your post was the thing you said about cigars being less harmful to health - I mean is that true? I've read something about that but I have lost the article. I've been planning to chuck my cigarettes for some other substitutes....

 

What would you recommend for a beginner, pare? And where are the best outlets here for cigars?

thanks bods,

 

for cigars, i would suggest you start by buying the flavored capricho. it comes in coffee, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. you may also want to buy a tabacalera capricho, unflavored and/or the don juan urquijo capricho (medyo may kamahalan it coz this is the premiere line of tabacalera). this is for you compare the taste.

 

why i recommend you to start with capricho size both lenght and band (circumference) is the smallest among the family of cigars. they are also reasonably priced.

 

as for the flavored cigar, i would like you to start with flavors you are accustomed to. also just in case you light up in public, you wont be chastised. unflavored cigars may be too strong and harsh for a first timer.

 

the difference between cigar and cigarette smoking is that you dont inhale the smoke of cigars; you need a pace in puffing it so the flame does not extinguish.

 

cigars are natural. they are made up of dried tobacco leaves, which make them a tinge healthier (for lack of a better term) than cigarettes. + you dont take in the smoke.

 

call it fanatical but i have read articles in cigar magazines that a slight fever and a cold can be "cured" by a puff from a cigar. i tried it myself and it works for me.

 

where to buy, tabacalera has outlets at the filipinana section of SM and Rustans. i buy mine at SM, mas mura...

 

final advice.... do what you like .... it's your life. there are no rules in life except your own.

 

good luck, let me know how it works for you.

 

 

 

some terminologies:

 

draw - inhaling from a cigar.

shoulder - one end of a cigar that is usually sealed

 

parts of cigar - binder, filler and wrapper.

 

ways to open the tip - punch, or cut (using a guilotin blade or scissor type).

 

 

[masi]

to be honest, i havent bought a bottle of a single malt in my life. i only buy shots or my client buys the shots for me. perhaps the only malt whiskey that i ever bought was the johnnie walker pure malt whiskey (green label). also a japanese friend game me a botle of Suntory single malt (incidentally, i havent opened it).

 

the single malts i've tried were glenlivet, glenfidich and macallan. i've read somewhere that the type and flavor of a single malt depends when its a highland or lowland malt whiskey.

 

 

don't be afraid to discover life.... i often tell my friends to be more adventurous.... look you have one life to live!

 

 

if you like wine, drink wine; if you like cigars, smoke 1; that's how i am....

 

i dont take it from other people what i can do and cannot do. just do it properly.

 

word of caution, it's not that bad to spend a bundle to discover these things. its the only way for you to know what the world offers to you.

 

i hope you dont tire of my long replies....

[masi]

pare, your research on cheese is excellent.... if i were a professor grading it, i will give you A+

 

am not much of a cheese person... i will take some if its available. recently, i opened a bottle of a St. Emillion, grande chateau which i have kept for 3 to 4 years and took some manchego with it.

 

it was excellent!!!!

 

some of my favorites are camembert, gouda, gruyere, brie.

 

again, there are no rules in life merely suggestions... the only rules are your own.

 

 

live life!!!!

[zhaowushu]

nice reading, masi. was a scotch and cigar man myself, until i enjoyed the scotch too much, he he. nothing beats the equanimity that combination brings... a wonderful world indeed. cheers!

[masi]

nice reading, masi. was a scotch and cigar man myself, until i enjoyed the scotch too much, he he. nothing beats the equanimity that combination brings... a wonderful world indeed. cheers!

do whatever makes you happy.... as i often say.... live life....

 

just make sure na wala tayong nasasaktan at naaapi at naiistorbo sa ating kasiyahan. if we follow this simple guidelines in life, i guess we're alright.

 

your appreciation for cigars and whiskey is part of your life... someday, you will find it interesting and you go back to it.

 

in the meantime, have fun and enjoy living. now is your only chance... stay healthy. :mtc:

[bods1000]

thanks bods,

 

for cigars, i would suggest you start by buying the flavored capricho.  it comes in coffee, chocolate, vanilla and strawberry.  you may also want to buy a tabacalera capricho, unflavored and/or the don juan urquijo capricho (medyo may kamahalan it coz this is the premiere line of tabacalera). this is for you compare the taste.

 

why i recommend you to start with capricho size both lenght and band (circumference) is the smallest among the family of cigars.  they are also reasonably priced.

 

as for the flavored cigar, i would like you to start with flavors you are accustomed to. also just in case you light up in public, you wont be chastised. unflavored cigars may be too strong and harsh for a first timer.

 

the difference between cigar and cigarette smoking is that you dont inhale the smoke of cigars; you need a pace in puffing it so the flame does not extinguish.

 

cigars are  natural.  they are made up of dried tobacco leaves, which make them a tinge healthier (for lack of a better term) than cigarettes.  + you dont take in the smoke.

 

call it fanatical but i have read articles in cigar magazines that a slight fever and a cold can be "cured" by a puff from a cigar.  i tried it myself and it works for me.

 

where to buy, tabacalera has outlets at the filipinana section of SM and Rustans.  i buy mine at SM, mas mura...

 

final advice.... do what you like .... it's your life.  there are no rules in life except your own.

 

good luck, let me know how it works for you.

some terminologies:

 

draw - inhaling from a cigar. 

shoulder - one end of a cigar that is usually sealed

 

parts of cigar - binder, filler and wrapper.

 

ways to open the tip - punch, or cut (using a guilotin blade or scissor type).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

I've seen those Tabacalera outlets in SM and more than once I've been tempted to inquire but 100% of the time I ended up not buying anything because I didn't know what appropriate cigar to buy. Now your post gave me an idea to look for caprichos - I mean do I understand that Tabacalera does not carry coffee-flavored caprichos, which I might prefer? And, what does not inhaling cigar smoke mean?

Well, how do you smoke cigars? Pardon, pero talagang clueless ako about this but I wanna go into cigars if it's healthier and more natural as you are saying

[bods1000]

Long replies are no problem here, pare - it's the short, greetings-type missives from post-whores from other threads that should be cut down. Anyway, I haven't tried any single-malt because i've abstained from hard liquor but if single-malt will give pleasures unfound in any other liqour (of course, except wine) then I'd gladly imbibe in it once in a while

Edited October 1, 2004 by bods1000

[bods1000]

pare, I'm cringing from copyright infringements! pero if that's the way I can share information, then what the heck! I hope it really helped, and- I'm thinking into trying out these cheeses myself

Edited October 1, 2004 by bods1000

[masi]

I've seen those Tabacalera outlets in SM and more than once I've been tempted to inquire but 100% of the time I ended up not buying anything because I didn't know what appropriate cigar to buy. Now your post gave me an idea to look for caprichos - I mean do I understand that Tabacalera does not carry coffee-flavored caprichos, which I might prefer? And, what does not inhaling cigar smoke mean?

Well, how do you smoke cigars? Pardon, pero talagang clueless ako about this but I wanna go into cigars if it's healthier and more natural as you are saying

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

the tabacalera outlets in sm have the coffee, choco, vanilla and stawberry flavored caprichos. i prefer coffee flavor because i'm an avid coffee drinker (i have posts on coffee related thread). but choose what you feel and trust your instincts, flavored or unflavored.

 

i dont usually take in the smoke like the way a cigarette smoker would inhale the smoke. you simply puff your cigar, and expel the smoke after (hithit-buga) but in my case i let the smoke linger in my mouth then release the smoke slowly trying to savor the smell of the smoke. a word of warning though, the taste of cigar tobacco may be overpowering, for a first time, but once you get used to it , you will appreciate a tinge of spicy, leathery taste that is left after smoking...

 

hard to explain but, as a word of consolacion, i was a first timer in cigar, once, i too had difficulty in understanding what i was doing... now smoking is part of my passion, my living, my life....

 

i wont give it up even if my doctor told me to stop smoking.... then what, i stop living?

 

good luck... have a great weekend..

[muff_lover]

For those who want to try cigars. try qutting cigarettes for about a week, then smoke cigars. You will enjoy cigars more because your body won't be looking for the nicotine in your lungs.

 

I tried cigars but it's much better if a girl smoked my cigar.

[centrino]

Good advises Masi. :cool:

 

My 2 cents, if you're going for Cigars go for Cubans its far better, although the price range may be material but the quality is far better of it terms of taste.

 

Cigars are made from natural ingredients, therefore it must be good for the health. 'Heck anything that we enjoy is good for us right????

[caloy76]

Sayang!

Pero next time inform us ha   We'd love to go there hehehe

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

MAyroong wine-tasting but it is the booth type at the Glorietta Mall on October 8-10. I guess we will be featuring the riesling from Gunderloch, Weisbrodt, and maybe Kunstler. More details on my next post.

 

The formal event will be held at the Tower Club later tyhis month but it is by invitation only (European Chamber of Commerce- GERMAN MONTH).